Bushroot
First appearance Episode 3."Beauty and the Beet". Dr. Reginald Bushroot is a major supervillain from Darkwing Duck. Once a leading botanist, he became half-plant half-duck through one of of his failed experiments. Bushroot is voiced by Tino Insana. Background Bushroot was once a renowned scientist, but as his funding for his experiments was about to be cut, to prove his theories were correct, Bushroot performed an experiment on himself and was permanently transformed into a half-duck half-plant creature He pursued revenge on rival scientists Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson who had nicknamed him "Reggie the Veggie." Bushroot kills Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson and attempted to woo the beautiful Dr. Rhoda Dendron, who had previously defended Bushroot from bullies. Rhoda was dismayed by Bushroot's lack of scientific ethics and shunned him when he appeared before her. Heartbroken and more than a little insane, Bushroot took her hostage, intending to perform the same experiment on her, but was stopped by Darkwing Duck. In later episodes Bushroot mainly commits crimes to fund his experiments, though sometimes he acts in a manner reminiscent of an environmentalist (a la Greenpeace). Bushroot has the ability to control any and all forms of plant, though some seem to obey better than others. He sometimes has to use chemicals or fertilizers to make a plant useful in a fight. In one episode, he attempts to create a mate for himself, but mistakenly used the wrong seeds and creates a giant slobbering mutant potato named Posey. He also has a pet plant named Spike which resembles a Venus flytrap. Bushroot has dark green feathers, vines for arms, ivy leaves for hands, and shaggy magenta foliage for hair. He has the ability to regenerate himself when cut and is therefore virtually impossible to kill. He has also been known to fake his own death through leaving dried dummy husks behind and regenerating through various methods. Aside from his many plant cohorts, Bushroot was also allied as a member of the Fearsome Five, acting as one of NegaDuck's henchmen. In the Life, the Negaverse, and Everything, Bushroot's counterpart is a member of the Friendly Four. In the episode "A Star Is Scorned" Bushroot is portrayed as an less than intelligent actor (along with the rest of the Darkwing Duck cast) for "Dizzy" (Disney) studios. Powers & Abilities Before his transformation, Reginald was a brilliant botanist and scientist, and this did not change after his transformation. A certified genius by the academy of Saint Canard, (It is unknown if his PhD has been suspended now that he is a criminal). After blooming into a plant-duck hybrid he gained mental control over flora, the ability to accelerate their growth and metabolism, to make them do his bidding. With the power to make mighty trees and thorny vines strike at his enemies, this would make him one of the most dangerous beings in Saint Canard. However his personality, largely being that of a pacifist, renders the potential violence of these powers near non-existent. Only once has he used them in a genuinely lethal way, and aimed at long term tormentors of his. He is figuratively immortal, as he can abandon one husk and transfer his mind into a fresh one and simply regrow his body, allowing him to survive fatal accidents like being chopped to pieces, drying up, etc. Personality Bushroot is by far the most complex character on the show. In contrast to his fellow villains who mostly are driven by sociopathy, greed, insanity, erratic mentality or professional occupation, Bushroot is driven by two desires: a desire for revenge and desire for companionship. This seems to indicate that he is not sinister. Indeed, it is true that he is less sinister than his fellow villians. However, he is NOT a victim of circumstance. Bushroot could have had plenty of friends had he decided to use his powers for good; Instead, he used them to fulfill his own selfish desires. That is what makes Bushroot a villain, selfishness, the true root of all evil. If he considered Rhonda’s feelings instead of giving in to his desires, he would not have hooked her up to his plant converter. Had he considered the ethics of smothering Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson, they would still be alive and well. Bushroot's inability to control himself is not an effect of his mutation. The mutation merely downsized the primary voice that had formerly kept him from giving in to his desires: fear. That is what kept him from making earlier attempts at Gary and Larson’s life, he was simply afraid of being outnumbered and outgunned by the two significantly larger scientists. Fear also kept him from pursuing Rhonda, he was afraid she didn't like him back. He doesn't question the ethics of his decisions; he only questions whether he can get away with it. Spike Spike is Bushroot's plant sidekick/companion, who behaves much like a dog and resembles an overgrown Venus flytrap. A recurring theme involves Spike to be chemically altered making him either smaller or larger than usual. In "The Incredible Bulk", he secretly helped Darkwing and Launchpad because he was jealous of the attention Bushroot was giving Daisy instead of him. Bushroot later remarked in that episode that he found Spike dependable, much to the plant's pleasure. Character description He has blue eyes, white feathers (before mutation and later has green feathers), a blue suit with a black necktie, he used to have black hair (and later became purple after his mutation), and can control plants. Appearances *Beauty and the Beet *Night of the Living Spud *Easy Come, Easy Grows *Just Us Justice Ducks(Part 1) *Just Us Justice Ducks (Part 2) *Ghoul of My Dreams (cameo) *Life, the Negaverse, and Everything *Darkwing Doubloon *It's a Wonderful Leaf *Twin Beaks *The Incredible Bulk *Slime OK, You're OK *A Star Is Scorned *Time and Punishment (cameo) *Jail Bird Trivia *Ironically, despite being one of the more sympathetic villains, he's also one of the few that ever murdered people. *In the game he is the boss of The Woods. *His origin is similar to the Hulk's from the live action TV series in that he experiments on himself *He is presumably modeled after Poison Ivy or the Florinic Man who are also scientists who changed into half plant, half human. Quotes "I'm really not sinister, just misunderstood." "I'm gonna get you, Darkwing Duck!" "My bride and my worst enemy together! Oh, Posey, how could you do this to me?" "I'll get that rotten Casanova duck for this!" "She's a potato. This isn't posey blossom, it's potato spuds. How could you do this to me?" "You have stolen the heart of the woman I love! I'm not gonna rescue you, I'm gonna mow you down!" "Upsy-Daisy!" "Kill Negaduck! Kill Negaduck!" "Bad Spike! What have you done?" "Posey, are you okay? Please, please forgive me!" "Vampire? there's no such thing." "Stop that guy!" "Posey, will you marry me?" "We don't have a secret hideout, why can't we go to your secret hideout?" "Ooh, look at me! I'm shaking like a leaf!" "Yikes, two Negaducks?!" "Indeed." "Now you'll pay for taking Posey away from me!" "when we get home, you're going on a diet!" (To Spike) "I'll take that as a yes." "Uh-oh." (to Dr. Gary and Larson) "Hey stop it you guys! Give it back!" "And now there's only one thing left to do: cackle madly! "I'm not playing! If my research is successful, someday we get a nutrition on plants and be able to snack on sunlight." "I feel so...so normal. My experiment is a failure. No, I'm a failure. I'm scum. No, I'm less than scum. I'm a worthless fungal parasite." "Son of a broccoli! What have I done to myself?" "All I wanted to do is make the world a better place to live. Now look at me. I'm a walking salad bar." "I guess dogs aren't tree's best friend. Wait a minute, you moved! But you can't move! But you did move. I must be losing my mind. I gotta sit down for a moment. Thanks. Oh no, it happened again. A drink? Yes, that's what I need. A drink. I must have some telepathatic link with plants. This is a scientific breakthrough! Yes that's it! I'm the Doctor Doolittle of the plant world! Aha, this should impress them back at the lab...aww, but then they'll just laugh at me again. Humiliate me in front of... Rhoda. Unless of course, they have a little accident... hey, this plant thing may not be so bad after all." "Quackerjack's giving me the creeps. Someone's got to tell him prison's not supposed to be fun." "Ah, what a beautiful bride you are and a beautiful bride like you on my side the whole world would be green in envy. This is the happiest day of my life." "Oh, well. A plant's gotta do what a plant's gotta do!" "Christmas shopping gets more dangerous every year." "Alright, every luxury a bride could want! You've got your own sprinkler system and a fertilizer supply!" "Never again will I be lonely! Never again will I be told, 'I can't go out with you, you're just a shrub!' I've found the way to obtain the perfect bride! I'm growing my own." "I can't marry a potato! She's a tuber, and I'm a shrub! Well, they say opposites attract..." "Ooh, look at me, I'm shaking like a leaf!" "Gosalyn's guardian is Negaduck." "I'm too young to be a frozen vegetable!" "Christmas...Bah, grubbug!" "Everyone treats me like last year's fruitcake..." "Hey, kid! Easy on the foilage, huh?" "For my next witness...and patient..." "It's my scientific name." (to Darkwing) "You're the only one who's ever beat Negaduck!" "Some witch. Doesn't do a bad daisy, though." "You think I'm the only vegetable that ever went bad..." "Uh, thanks for the rescue...whoever you are." "We don't want Negaduck to see us." "Not bad for a mutated research scientist, eh?” “Oh, look. I’m shaking like a leaf.” "But...what'll you do if Darkwing Duck shows up?" "So, the world thinks I'm a monster, huh? A horrible, ugly mutant plant monster." "Hey, I may be a mutant plant duck, but I'm an earth mutant plant duck!" Ow Ow Ow Stop Darkwing Duck Category:Villains Category:Fearsome Five Members Category:Characters Category:Recurring characters Category:Male Characters Category:Ducks Category:Comic Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Plants